


Your Kiss is What I Miss

by poisonkirby



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Lots of kissing, M/M, brief drug dealing mention, buying flowers, happy pride everyone, heavily mentioned kano and black dragon, i jsut really wanted to write a fic where someone gives someone flowers and it got out of hand, just fluff, kabal misses his husband when hes working :(, mentioned jacqui/takeda, some sweet stuff, stryker and kabal are both trans but it isnt mentioned or described they just are, stryker misses him too, yes the title is a lyric from the hall and oates song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 02:07:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19163635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonkirby/pseuds/poisonkirby
Summary: Kabal is sent off to go undercover in a drug ring closely associated to the Black Dragon, and he misses his husband. Good thing the whole plan falls apart and he gets to go home early!





	Your Kiss is What I Miss

**Author's Note:**

> gay and trans rights  
> couple things i need to mention, this is p divergent from current mk canon but it isnt really an au or anything au where all the revenants are alive and everything is going well for people i guess lol.  
> kabal is still burned and thats what "the accident" refers too, hes undergone treatments for his lungs and he's able to breathe without his mask again. sometimes he has trouble tho but for the most part he forgoes the breathing mask. he and stryker and all the revenants were killed and made into revenants, but were all saved when jax was.  
> he's also in special forces to help track black dragon activity and bring them down, he was brought in by sonya post mk9, a bit after the opening cutscene in x where they restore jax.  
> stryker is more of a field detective, hes kinda stopped going on patrol and stuff like that and settled down into doing forensics.  
> they arent rly cops anymore bc fuck cops  
> (also if ur wondering about winter roses im so sorry lol ill get that out when im more into mario next, im not happy making any progress on ch 2 so far but ill get there ;v;)

Kabal had been running for the past half hour, and running fast too. His whole operation just blew up in his face, causing him to make a mad dash for extract way too early in the mission.

It had been a long and hard week for Kabal, he'd been undercover to bust a drug ring closely associated with the Black Dragon for the past month. Everything was going fine at first, but towards the end of the operation tensions started running high. Someone had tipped the boss off about Special Forces presence in their ranks, putting Kabal in even more hot water than he was before.

It was already extremely dangerous for him to be running undercover ops like these when he was formerly so close to the Black Dragon- though it undoubtedly made him more qualified for the job. And the satisfaction of fucking up Kano's day every once in a while was pretty worthwhile as well. But he was at a greater risk for getting found out than the others he worked with. Though he had only run with the scum when he was a stupid teenager, they all knew about the fast witted- and equally as fast footed- brave son of a bitch who dared to sell out Kano and live. 

He tugged at the straps of the full face mask he had been wearing, pulling it off and hurling it over a distant sand dune. He took a deep breath, letting the humid mid day desert heat into his lungs. The SF helicopter would be landing about a mile or so from where he was currently at, allowing him to be extracted safely. He was pretty sure no one was on his tail. Hopefully.

Sure he could run freakishly fast but he was tired. His legs were burning and crying for him to take a break, and he was mentally drained. Being on guard and ready to kill and escape at a moments notice was tiring. And he was supposed to do this for another couple months! He chuckled to himself, good thing this mission did go south, he wanted nothing more than to get out of there and see his hubby. He hadn't kissed his face in what felt like an eternity. As much as he wanted to just quit doing these undercover missions that kept him apart from Kurtis for such long times, someone had to do them. He really was the most qualified, experience wise and with his knowledge of the inner workings of the Black Dragon. No- as long as he was still kicking he would do him damnedest to take Kano and his shitshow down. That was a threat AND a promise. 

He took in as much of the landscape while he ran, scouting good places for landings and escapes and possible attack setup spots. Figuring he was far enough away and had no one on his tail, Kabal slowed gradually. His muscles would thank him later, and it was no use to burn himself out this quickly in case he had really been followed or tracked.  
By this point, the Black Dragon had definitely known who had infiltrated their precious drug ring, no one in the world was as fast as Kabal. And he'd made quite the mess in his wake. It wasn't like it was his fault- the heat was coming down on the little group he had associated with, the boss was pinning him down. He had no choice but to grab what he could and run.

Another few minutes or so and he was at the chopper-less extraction point, huffing and breathing deep, then checking himself over for any injuries his body might've dulled down in his mad dash getting the hell out of dodge. As far as he could tell, he was perfectly fine aside from minor cuts and bruises. He wasn't too concerned, you know what they say, scars are cool. And sexy as hell according to the cute as hell detective that was waiting for him at home. 

Kabal paced for a bit, still catching his breath, before resigning to sitting right in the sand. That shit would be with him for the next two days but he couldn't help it, he'd exerted too much and his legs were killing him. He really wasn't as young as he used to be, even with all the exercise and health food he put down he couldn't stop aging. He ran his hands through his hair, brushing the dirt and sand and dried blood that had clumped in it during his scuffle. Taking the communicator off of his belt while fixing his hair, he sat and tossed the duffle bag he'd snatched from the boss's office before his escape. Kabal had to give it to him, for someone dumb enough to run with Kano he was smart with his security. It took Kabal a whole month to get near his office- something that would usually only take a week give or take.

"Base this is Kabal, come in." He spoke into the communicator, voice hoarse from the dry desert air.

There was a crackle of static and then, "This is base, we read. Are you at the extraction point?"

"Yep." 

"Copy. General Blade was sent upon your first call, she should be there soon."

Shit. Blade? Fuck. She was going to chew him out for sure. 

"Gotcha. Over and out." He managed, clearing this throat and replacing his communicator on his hip.  
Well at least he might get to go home tonight. If Blade doesn't kill him.

He knew she would be heavily involved, Black Dragon ops were usually her forte. She hated Kano more than anyone, as far as Kabal was concerned he was her kill. He just didn't want to be caught in her cross hairs over a mission he had to cut short. Hopefully the information he had been sending over the last month and the goodies in the duffel bag would be enough to reduce her rage.

Soon the familiar sound of a helicopter grew closer to him, he stood and brushed all of the sand off of himself. He picked up the bag and waved. It landed near him, blowing sand up in his face which made him wince. Kabal quickly opened the door and flung himself and the bag inside, dramatically pretending to catch the breath he had caught moments before. 

" You would not believe the day I had, General." he jokingly whined.

Sonya shook her head from the cockpit, shooting him a look that would put the fear of the elder gods into anyone. "Kabal, you were supposed to run this operation for another 2 months."

He lazily made his way to the netted seat behind Sonya and slumped over it. "Oh I would have definitely died if I'd stayed another week. No offense Blade, but I can't do undercover as well as I could before the accident."

Sonya winced, trying to carefully pick her words. "We offered to let someone else go in your place and you stay on base as intel."

Kabal shook his head and chuckled. "Like I said then, no can do Blade. These operations are dangerous, I know the Black Dragon like the back of my hand. No use in getting someone else killed when I can do the job just fine. Aside from a few things but whatever."  
He kicked the duffel bag over to where he was, picking it up to show off. "Plus I managed to steal a bunch of shit."

"Listen, I know how you feel about this stuff. I just don't want something bad to happen that ends with you dead." Sonya sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"That's real nice of you General, but I have a job that needs to be done. I hate the Black Dragon as much as you." 

The general turned, flipping a few switches and punching s few buttons. "This isn't about who hates those bastards the most-"

"Never said it was." Kabal interrupted, laying across the netted seat with his legs crossed. "Sure there's a score to settle, but Kano's your kill. I know that. I'm just here to make it easier for you to pull the trigger on that sunovabitch."

Sonya leaned out of her chair after punching in the coordinates to the Special Forces base closest to them and squatted next to Kabal. "That's not what I'm getting at and you know it. These jobs are getting more and more dangerous, Kano and his goons are wising up. You can keep running, but eventually they'll catch you."

Kabal snorted. "And here I thought you weren't one for puns."

"I'm not." She said dryly as she opened up the duffel bag to investigate its contents. "You know what I mean, stop avoiding the subject."

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "Are you trying to say I'm not good enough, General?"

Sonya put down the invoice papers she was skimming, rolling her eyes. "Of course not, you're one of our most capable soldiers. The Special Forces would still be miles behind if you hadn’t joined."

"You know it."

"But, you're slowing down. And they aren’t. I can tell. You will get yourself killed if you keep pushing yourself to do all of these risky operations." General Blade paused to ensure her point was getting across. “The world isn’t resting on your shoulders.”

By this point, Kabal at sat upright again, resting his elbows on his knees with his hands to his mouth. "Blade, whatever you're trying to do here won't work. I'm dedicated. I'm not giving up."

Sonya had stuffed whatever she'd fished out of the bag back into it and jerked the zipper closed. She rose from the floor then sat back down in the netted seat across from Kabal. "I'm trying to get you to understand that you don't have to do all of this by yourself. Let others step in for you every once in a while."

This made him smirk a kind if irritated smile. "Isn't that rich, getting lectured on overworking myself from the Queen of Overtime." Kabal was amazed that she was really coming down on him for this, considering she overworked herself out of a marriage. It’s not like his marriage was in any danger- they were both workaholics. He took his gloves off and tossed them onto the space beside him, doing the same with the heavy vest he’d snagged upon his deployment.

“Kabal. I mean it. I know I overwork myself at times, but I’ve learned to take help from others. Going all lone-wolf isn’t helping anyone but Kano in the long run.” She leaned forward, pressing her elbows into her knees. 

“Then I’ll be better. I’ll make it up. Whatever it takes to get the job done.” He started fiddling with his wedding band with his thumb. 

Sonya let out a groan, rubbing her eyes with her palms, then leaning back. “You aren’t getting it. I know what you’re trying to do. This whole- atonement thing? It’s not necessary Kabal. You’ve been more than forgiven for what you did in the past. That’s behind you now, you don’t have to keep looking for forgiveness.”

Kabal froze. Was he looking for forgiveness? He didn’t think so. He had a steady job, moving from SWAT into the Special Forces after the accident- something he thought would never in a million years happen when he was in recovery. He had a nice place, a cozy city view apartment, and a loving husband to boot. He never felt like he didn’t deserve all of this, he’d more than made up for his past crimes when he went into the force all those decades ago. So why did he feel as if she was right?

“General…” He paused, trying to pick his words carefully. “I… You’re right. Maybe I can’t do this alone and should accept help. But-” he looked to his hand- at the gold band around his ring finger- “I have someone I want to protect. If the Black Dragon does anything- Gods if Kano does anything-”

“You think that doesn’t scare the shit out of me, too?” Sonya interrupted. “They’ve done terrible things to me and my family. I know how it feels to be in this position. You have people that can help and make your job easier, Kabal. Like I said- it’s not all on your shoulders.”

Kabal breathed in. “They want me dead so badly…”

Sonya slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Me too.”

This made him laugh. “Well I guess we should work on that, shouldn’t we?”

“With a whole team and not by ourselves, and that’s an order.”

He laughed and jokingly saluted. “Yes ma’am.”

 

\----

 

The meetings and paperwork was not something he enjoyed at all. Being in the field, busting heads? That was more his speed. Kabal leaned on his right hand, accidentally poking his cheek with his pen. He winced and rubbed the streak of ink into a smudge, putting the pen back to the paper.  
Incident report after incident report, mission debrief after medical exam after meeting, hour after hour after hour, he was exhausted. He’d fell asleep in the 3rd meeting after just 5 minutes, waking to Johnny Cage kicking his leg under the table. He kicked him back reflexively, earning a second sharp glare from General Blade for the night. Johnny chuckled.

This sucked.

He kept saying he loved this job, but there were aspects of it that made him want to drag his own face across the pavement at break-neck speed. Being away from home for long periods of time? Sucked. Not being able to get in touch with his husband because of conflicting schedules and being undercover? Sucked. Paper work? Double sucked. Having to put up with Johnny Cage and Cage 2 prodding at him when they were on base? Quadruple sucked. Skips right over triple sucking. While he did enjoy the movie star and his kombat krew of reckless kid’s antics, he enjoyed them much less when they were aimed at him. Especially when he was tired and just wanted to go home already. 

Luckily for him, it was just senior Cage on base tonight. Cassie had checked out for the night an hour before he and Sonya had landed on base, he’d been told Jacqui and Takeda were in Japan for the past week making wedding arrangements with Grandmaster Grumpypants, and Jin was doing some training with his uncle and the White Lotus.  
A good bunch those kids were, they were smart, put up a fight and knew how to have fun. Certainly nothing like Sonya or the former hell wraith. Funny, he thought, how some people can grow up so differently than the people who raised them. 

Aside from Cassie he knew exactly where she got that from. And he was walking right into his office to bother him some more.

“Hey Kaballer,” Johnny yawned, showing obvious signs of needing to sleep. “How’s the report going?”

Kabal sighed and let his head fall back. “Its uh, going.”

“Damn you look like shit. How much more paperwork you have left?” he asked, placing a packet down on Kabal’s already messy desk. “Also Sonya wants you to go through and sign these.”

“Fuck me.” Kabal let his head fall to his desk, making a jarring slamming noise. “I feel like I’ve got a whole year’s worth here…” He lifted his head and started to begrudgingly sign the packet. He was really hoping to get home that night so he could cuddle his damn husband but Elder Gods forbid he miss a bit of paperwork. 

Johnny leaned against the desk, crossing his arms. “Does Stryker even know you’re back?” He sounded genuinely concerned, in that dad way of speaking he had. 

“I haven’t even gotten my phone out of my locker, man.” He said, running his free hand through his hair, which was a complete mess by this point. Yes he immediately hit the showers and got new clothes when they arrived on base, but with the stress he had been put through for the past couple hours practically undid that entirely. He might as well have still been caked in dirt and blood and sand. 

“Dude, just go home. I’ll deal with this OK? I know how badly this op went for you- you need your rest.” The movie star said. 

Kabal quickly got up without a second thought, slammed the pen down and started gathering his stuff up. He didn’t need to be told to leave work early twice. 

“Blade's gonna kill you.” he said slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Johnny laughed, uncrossing his arms to gather up the relevant papers from the desk. “Not if she doesn’t find out.”

This got a chuckle out of Kabal, who was already at the door ready to make a run for his locker. “Listen- Cage-”

“What, I cover for you and we’re still on a last name basis?” Johnny said.

“-Johnny- thanks for covering for me.” Kabal finished.

Johnny smiled, patting Kabal on the back. “No problem man. I know how tough this job can be, don’t wanna overwork yourself. Now hurry up and get out of here before Sonya kills both of us.” 

Kabal smiled and gave a quick salute with two fingers, turning back on his heels to quickly run to his locker. 

It really did mean a lot to him that his coworkers cared enough about him to worry and do things like cover for him. Back in the Black Dragon it was every man for himself. Even after he’d gotten out, and when he joined the force, it had been just him looking out for himself. No one really ever trusts you when you’ve associated yourself with scum like Kano. 

Except, Kurtis trusted him. Ever since they first met, something between them just clicked. It was like he saw that Kabal really wanted to get away from it all and start over. He always knew his intentions. And that was really when his life began again, a true fresh start with someone who cared. Someone who kept coming back, who enjoyed being around him, and Kabal had to say, Kurtis wasn’t half bad to be around either. 

Kabal opened his backpack and began shoving his belongings he’d left behind the month before, stopping at his phone to turn it on. Another downside about undercover ops, no personal effects allowed. Anything that could possibly expose your identity needs to be left behind, which meant cutting off contact to loved ones for long periods of time.

The phone lit up, playing a little jingle on startup. Kabal navigated to his call app and suddenly stopped to look at the time. 3 A.M. He groaned and turned his phone off, stuffing it in his back pocket and zipping his bag up, turning quickly and jogging down the hall. He wanted to hurry up and get the hell out of there, phone calls could wait.

 

\----

 

Kabal was almost halfway home, relaxing in his car and blasting some rocking tunes when the decided to stop at an all night grocery store. He’d realized he hadn’t eaten since that morning, if he could really call what the Black Dragon served “food”. He hadn’t had any good food to eat in what felt like ages.  
It was only when he was passing through the health drink aisle he noticed the tiny endcap cooler filled with flower arrangements.  
‘This is so corny,’ he thought to himself, chuckling has he picked a nice looking bouquet of roses and other flowers and placed them in his basket.  
He checked himself out, then sat in his car to eat for a while. He glanced at his phone, no notifications. Stryker was either at work late or asleep. He decided to send him a quick message, despite how late it was. 

[4:02 AM Sent to: Hubby<3] : Hey babe, u still up?

He set his phone down after restarting his rockin’ tunes and pulled out of the parking lot, restarting his trip home. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too long, traffic in the area usually lulled between the dead hours of 3 and 4 AM.  
To say this was a busy city was an understatement, it was always moving and always active. There were all sorts of people, going to and from all sorts of professions. Movie stars, soldiers from the Special Forces base, tourists, average people who weren’t involved with gods and mythologies and killer ninjas and deadly kombat tournaments, the list goes on. There was always something happening, some reason for large groups of people to need to get from point A to point B right then. This lead to people driving like assholes the majority of the time, but it was at least bearable during the later hours.

His phone went off. He glanced down at the notification pop-up.

[4:05 AM Received from: Hubby<3] : Honey!!! I thought you were supposed to be out longer than that? But I’m awake :)

Kabal sighed, slightly concerned about Stryker still being up this late at night. He stopped at a red light, shooting back a quick text.

[4:11 AM Sent to: Hubby<3] : things went south. Im ok tho, i’ll tell u abt it when i get home.

[4:11 AM Received from: Hubby<3] : Cant wait to see you! ♡♡ 

The rest of the drive was uneventful, aside from some asshole that cut him off after he got off his exit, but that was fairly normal.  
He could see the sun slowly rising over the horizon as he got out of his car, accompanied by the lingering chirp of crickets. 

Their small apartment seemed still at this hour, the faint sunlight dripping through the cracks in the blinds. The only noise and the most light was coming from the TV in the living room, which he noticed was on infomercials. He sat his stuff down quietly and peered over the couch.  
His husband was curled up with the duvet from their bed, his phone next to him.

And he was wearing one of Kabal’s shirts. 

The noise Kabal made must have been very audible, because Kurtis’ nose wrinkled and his eyes scrunched up. He made a tiny noise before opening his eyes, seeing his husband above him.

“Babe?” He said, stretching out and cuddling up to the blanket.

Kabal smiled, making his way around the couch and sitting near Kurtis’ legs. “Finally made it. You gotta scooch over and give me some room?”

Kurtis made a humming noise, moving over to give his husband snuggle room. He slightly lifted the blanket up, letting Kabal get comfy beside him. 

Kabal settled in and started to pepper the other’s face with light kisses. “Man I missed you so much, hon.” He whispered, settling his head under Kurtis’ chin.

“Missed you too,” Kurtis breathed, wrapping his arms around Kabal sleepily. They had both severely missed cuddling and just being together so much. A month feels like an eternity when you’re missing someone dearly. Kabal wasn’t sure if he could have made it those additional two months. And of course there would be hell to pay with Blade once she realized he bailed, but he was only focused on now. In his lover’s embrace, planting soft kisses on his collarbone and neck while he lulled back to sleep. 

 

\---

 

“So someone was tipped off about you being there? How?” Stryker asked, circling his finger around the rim of his coffee cup.

Kabal shrugged, poking at his egg yolk. “No idea, I was thinking a rat in the Special Forces but Blade got pissed when I suggested it.” 

Kurtis took a sip of his orange juice from the mug. “I don’t know, could very well be. She was just probably frustrated you were found out this early. Seems like something she wouldn’t risk and would look into.”

The yolk popped, running into the white. “You’d think. Whatever, she’s probably taken care of it by now, knowing her.” He stuffed a piece of egg in his mouth. “Made me go through paperwork hell.”

“You poor thing,” Kurtis said over dramatically. “Did you get it all finished?”

Kabal laughed. “No, Cage covered for me and I left.”

“So that’s why you got home early, I thought it was weird that you got back so soon after texting me.” Kurtis wasn’t in the Special Forces- though they never stopped trying to recruit him- but he knew Blade was a stickler for getting paperwork done. Especially if it was tied to a mission incident. 

“So how were things at the precinct?” Kabal lead the conversation away from his overabundance of work-time stress.

Kurtis shook his head as he lifted his cereal spoon to his face. “Some old same old. Had a nasty hit-and-run case come through the other week.”

“Those are a nightmare…”

“Right?” He said through a mouthful, “Anyway, we caught the dude, turns out he was ex Red Dragon. No idea what he was doing here.”

Kabal chuckled as he started poking at his second egg. “Something about this area just draws those types in, ya know? Hell, we could host our own fighting tournament.”

This made Kurtis chuckle. Kabal had missed his laugh. Well more like his everything, his laugh, his smile, the way he rolled his eyes when Kabal said something dumb. He was a dream and Kabal was fast asleep. Man that was cheesy. 

“Wait right here-” This made him remember something, “I’ve got a surprise for you,”

Kurtis tilted his head, confused as Kabal ran into the other room. He instantly came back with a bouquet of flowers. 

“Oh my gods, Kabal,” He started grinning and laughing, his cheeks getting pink. Kabal handed him the flowers.

“Got these for you last night, I love you so much.” Kabal kissed him on the temple and gave him the flowers. “I know its kinda mushy but-”

Kurtis returned the kiss but this time on the lips. Kabal’s breath was taken away. 

“Thank you, you cheesy romantic.” Kurtis said quietly after pulling away. He could never get enough of this man, truly. He ran his hair through Kabal’s hair, stopping it at the back of his neck. “I missed you so much, babe.”

Kabal smirked. “I missed you too, sugarlips.” He kissed the other back, this time staying a bit longer. 

When they were done making up for lost kisses, Stryker put the flowers into a vase and onto the windowsill. 

“I’m glad you like them,” Kabal said, hugging his waist. “How about we add to the cheesy romance and go on a dinner date? My treat?”

Kurtis turned and planted another kiss on Kabal’s cheek. “Not if I can pay first.”

Kabal chuckled and started planting kisses all over the other’s face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
